Biography
Three different voices with one distinct message: Darius Kohanim, Knix, and Dee Washington, have patiently carved a small niche into the tree of music which branches throughout all of our lives. They have ventured out individually to speak to the world through music production in various forms and hosting their show, “Alien Music” on Proton Radio. Now exploring a new avenue, AOE has their first release of a sample cd, made of original samples from tracks and many more, on Resonant Vibes.
For the members of AOE,
Darius turns out a consistent and notable catalog of collaborations and individual productions on Audio Therapy, Hunya Munya, Influx Audio, Emote, and more. Collaborating on many tracks with Habersham and the group Panopticon, Darius has really pushed the entire music making process forward in a big way. Getting a track featured on D Fuse’s, “People 3” compilation for downtempo, was also a great boost in his early stages of production. His sounds have originated from his percussion training as a drummer, experience DJing, and being an overall enthusiast of ambient sound space. Darius has mastered the balance of taking you out of orbit, while keeping your feet planted firmly on the dance floor.
Knix stirs the pot with his releases on Proton Music and Hunya Munya, which drew support from Chloe Harris, and many others. Through his early adaptation of personal taste into his own style as a producer, Knix is reaping the rewards of getting lost in the music for quite a long time now. Special effects and tech’ed out glitchy percussion, is what runs through the speakers when this guy is around.
Dee has ramped up the studio with a large back catalogue of unreleased material, and a continuation of his obsession with all things electric. Expanding out to the unknown in sound and genre, makes Dee’s sound stand out. Through his evolution as a seasoned DJ and artist, he has committed to taking the sound on the fringes to push his love of music. Dee brings the entire tech house to house swing back in the beats.
Together–known they are Absence of Essence (AOE), the guys have created a forum to bring music back to what has kept them committed for so long – a love for Future Music. They are preparing to bring all, that are willing into the sounds they have helped create in the depths of Atlanta, Georgia USA with many other artists you know and love. Be on the lookout for their upcoming releases!
Darius Kohanim, has been heavily involved with music for the last fifteen years. Starting as a drummer for many different experimental rock bands of all types in Atlanta, he forced his musical tastes to exponentially and consistently expand over the years. Eventually the need to grow musically moved him away from traditional music and band gigs to electronic music. As a resident DJ at club Illusions for over two years in Atlanta, Darius learned to dive deeper into a unique style of house and eventually into production.
Working on collaborations with local producer Habersham, the groups AOE/Absence of Essence, and Panopticon, have made music production become the main focus. The main goal in production, is to look at music from a different angle on each track. Darius breaks down the genre walls of music, and desires to make music that spreads around to all types of music listeners, from all parts of the globe. With tracks ranging from techno, tech house, downtempo, Idm, and breaks, Darius tries to bring a full rounded sound to his production style.
Dee’s love for dance music has not faded for over 20 years. His musical exposure and tastes are broad and all encompassing. At the end of the day his goal is to make and play “Music that honors the great, and emphasizes the new”. The impact that music has played on Dee’s life is priceless. He started at a young age in an orchestra pit with a violin, then played classical guitar, and later spun records in his Uncle’s basement. The sounds of house and techno crept their way through this exposure and became the music that Dee could not put down. Once Dee was old enough to venture into the world, he discovered the huge scene and history that followed these genres. As a solo artist, Dee is able to communicate his experiences in a way that translates on the dance floor. He is able to dive into the newest sounds of the genre, while also honoring the elements that have always kept the dance floor moving. As a part of AOE, Dee is able to fuse his love of all music with his willingness to let go of “self” for the good of the musical experience.
Let this be your invitation to let go…
Jr. Bravo AKA Knix is a producer and DJ based out of Georgia who specializes in futuristic, underground Techno, Tech-House and Experimental music and has worldwide releases on premier record labels like Proton Music and Hunya Munya. His original track, “Electric Poetry”, has been remixed by Pole Folder and Jesse Somfay and was also featured as the opening track on Jay Epoch’s Particles: Episode 2 mix compilation, “Niluxshi”, the follow-up to the #1 Best-Selling DJ mix on Beatport. As a seasoned DJ for ten years he has played alongside some of the world’s best talent and has also co-hosted the radio show, Alien Music, on ProtonRadio.com since 2006. Recently, his distinctive sound design skills have been used to develop original samples for Resonant Vibe’s “re:produce” sample pack series. He is currently working in the studio on many cutting edge, and innovative music projects with long time friends, Darius Kohanim and Dee Washington, under the name, Absence of Essence (AOE).